In a landmark achievement, India has successfully lifted 171 million people out of extreme poverty over the past decade, as highlighted in the World Bank's Spring 2025 Poverty and Equity Brief.
📉 Key Highlights:
- Extreme Poverty Decline: The proportion of individuals living on less than $2.15 per day decreased from 16.2% in 2011-12 to 2.3% in 2022-23.
- Rural vs. Urban:
- Rural Areas: Poverty reduced from 18.4% to 2.8%.
- Urban Areas: Poverty declined from 10.7% to 1.1%.
- The rural-urban poverty gap narrowed from 7.7 to 1.7 percentage points.
💰 Lower-Middle-Income Poverty Line:
- At the $3.65 per day benchmark, poverty fell from 61.8% to 28.1%, lifting 378 million people out of poverty.
- Rural Poverty: Dropped from 69% to 32.5%.
- Urban Poverty: Declined from 43.5% to 17.2%.
🗺️ State Contributions:
- The five most populous states—Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar, West Bengal, and Madhya Pradesh—accounted for 65% of India's extreme poor in 2011-12.
- By 2022-23, these states contributed to two-thirds of the overall decline in extreme poverty.
📊 Multidimensional Poverty:
- Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI), considering factors like education and living standards, decreased from 53.8% in 2005-06 to 16.4% by 2019-21.
- The World Bank's measure stood at 15.5% in 2022-23, indicating ongoing improvements.
👩💼 Employment Trends:
- Employment growth has outpaced the working-age population since 2021-22, with rising employment rates, especially among women.
- Urban unemployment fell to 6.6% in Q1 FY24/25, the lowest since 2017-18.
- Self-employment has risen, particularly among rural workers and women, contributing to economic participation.
📌 GK Points for Competitive Exams:
- Report: World Bank's Spring 2025 Poverty and Equity Brief
- Extreme Poverty Line: $2.15/day
- Lower-Middle-Income Poverty Line: $3.65/day
- Extreme Poverty Reduction: 16.2% (2011-12) → 2.3% (2022-23)
- States Leading Reduction: Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh
- Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI): 53.8% (2005-06) → 16.4% (2019-21)
- Urban Unemployment Rate: 6.6% in Q1 FY24/25
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